As the development of science and technology is changing day after day, various IC cards are introduced to meet extensive consumer demands in hope of bringing a quicker, more convenient and secured consuming environment for consumers. The IC cards have a size approximately equal to a business card, which is easy to carry and it also includes a microchip for storing several tens of bytes to several tens of kilobytes of data. The IC cards have the functions of storing data and even executing application programs, and thus the IC cards are extensively used in many areas including identity cards, credit cards, electronic money, consumer bonus point cards, door security card, digital authentication cards, health insurance cards and telephone cards, etc in recent years. In general, an IC card is much more secured than the traditional magnetic card. For example, the general chip card can be divided into the following two kinds:
1. Memory Card: It is the earliest IC card that has the function of storing data and the capability of performing simple logical operations only. Since the memory card does not come with a microprocessor, therefore it cannot perform complicated mathematical operations, and has a low security. The memory card is an IC card generally used for the occasions requiring lower security, such as a telephone card, a door security card, and a mass rapid transit card, etc.
2. Smart Card: It is an IC card having a microprocessor and capable of performing complicated mathematical operations such as an encryption and a decryption, etc. Therefore, the IC card is more diversified, and also capable of carrying out a more complicated security mechanism to enhance the security of the IC card. Smart cards are widely used in European countries including France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Demark, Portugal and England, etc. The smart card can be implemented into the electronic money system, and thus a consumer can use the smart card for mass transportation system, public phone, supermarket, parking lot and gas station, etc. Since the smart card has an irreplaceable security and convenience and its digital signature is widely accepted by consumers, therefore the smart card is extensively used for identity card, driver's license, health insurance card, transportation card, and personal digital signature applications.
Since the GSM mobile phones become increasingly popular, the demand for SIM cards is increased drastically, and thus speeding up the popularity of the smart card. After the STK specification is established, the application of smart cards ranges from its original simple telephone function to many additional functions such as online inquiry, shopping, placing order, money transfer, and electronic game, etc. Since the counterfeit of magnetic tape type credit cards is getting more severe, the Visa and MasterCard companies have to expedite the process of implementing the original magnetic tape type card into the smart card, so as to minimize unauthorized uses of credit cards. Visa introduced a Visa Smart/Debit Card (VSDC) system, and MasterCard introduced MasterCard Chip Card (M/Chip) system, and these companies believe that this system will totally change the consuming habits of consumers.
The smart card is divided into three types: a contact IC card, a contactless IC card, and a dual interface card according to its communication interface; wherein the contact IC card adopts a contact type interface suitable for a general application and an application requiring a higher security, and the contactless IC card adopts a contactless type interface suitable for a fast transmission or an environment with an installation of a card reader, such as a mass transportation card and parking card, etc., and the dual interface card concurrently includes the foregoing two interfaces and thus integrating the advantages of both.
In addition, the smart card includes a microprocessor, not only can execute a preinstalled operating system program, but also can set the data access control and carry out the internal and external authentication of the card. The installed EEPROM or flash memory can read and write data repeatedly to maximize the functions of the card, and its software or hardware data protection design can effectively prevent counterfeit and duplication. With a password mechanism such as DES, RSA, MD5 and SHA-1, etc, the security of the card can be further improved, so that the card can be used off-line to reduce the communication cost of the network. The open system operating platform of the card allows several cards to be applied on the same card, so as to achieve the all-in-one function.
Although the popular contactless IC card has the advantages of a higher transmission rate and a simpler circuit structure, the capacity of its built-in register is very limited and cannot save much information into the same IC card. As a result, consumers have to carry several different IC cards, and such card no longer has the all-in-one function. Further, the popular mobile phone adopts three kinds of transmission interfaces: a USB connection, an infrared transmission and a Bluetooth transmission for its data transmission; wherein the USB interface requires related hardware supports and is mainly used for the connection between a mobile phone and a computer; the infrared interface has a slower speed and a higher environment requirements; and the Bluetooth interface requires a more complicated circuit and comes with a higher price.
In recent years, contactless IC card and mobile phone become indispensable in our daily life, but it is quite inconvenient to carry several different cards for different application or occasions, and these cards lack of a unique and easy-to-inquire identity label. If a mobile phone is lost or stolen, it is difficult to recover it. Therefore, finding a way of integrating the contactless IC card and the mobile phone to achieve the all-in-one function and effectively control consumer information, enhance data transmission rate and recover lost phones demands immediate attentions.